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[jlee562]

I know about JJ Hats Center in Manhattan and DelMonico Hatter in New Haven, CT.
I was wondering if you have any other recommendations of brick & mortar Fedora hat stores nearby in Westchester NY, CT, NY and NJ?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Bencraft is in Brooklyn: https://www.bencrafthats.com/

Worth and Worth is also Manhattan, though they're a pricey custom hatter now: https://hatshop.com/

 

[Mighty44]

I've been reading through old threads about hat blocks to better understand why I like what I like. I've read @deadlyhandsome and others describe #51 and #52 as being the shape of many of the classic Stetsons. Is anyone able to tell me specifically which is which? I'm specifically interested in the Whippet, Playboy and Stratoliner. Are they all the same block? Is that a #52?

Thanks so much!

David

 

[Frunobulax]

I've been reading through old threads about hat blocks to better understand why I like what I like. I've read @deadlyhandsome and others describe #51 and #52 as being the shape of many of the classic Stetsons. Is anyone able to tell me specifically which is which? I'm specifically interested in the Whippet, Playboy and Stratoliner. Are they all the same block? Is that a #52?

Thanks so much!

David

While we speak reverently of the #51 and #52 blocks, they aren't the basis for all the good hats. They are straight-sided, with one having a more rounded crown top than the other.

To my knowledge, Stetson didn't have a block they called #51 or #52. The Stratoliner blocks we've seen actaully have "STRATOLINER" imprinted on them. Playboys, for the most part, are blocked on a #122 (though #123 blocks have also been encountered). Not certain about Whippets. I only own one and the block number is partially gone, though it looks to maybe start with an 8. Open Roads vary, but #102 seems fairly common.

Here is a discussion on Stetson block numbers: https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/stetson-block-profile-numbers.62324/

 

[Mighty44]

While we speak reverently of the #51 and #52 blocks, they aren't the basis for all the good hats. They are straight-sided, with one having a more rounded crown top than the other.

To my knowledge, Stetson didn't have a block they called #51 or #52. The Stratoliner blocks we've seen actaully have "STRATOLINER" imprinted on them. Playboys, for the most part, are blocked on a #122 (though #123 blocks have also been encountered). Not certain about Whippets. I only own one and the block number is partially gone, though it looks to maybe start with an 8. Open Roads vary, but #102 seems fairly common.

Here is a discussion on Stetson block numbers: https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/stetson-block-profile-numbers.62324/

Okay thank you — that makes sense and reveals a MUCH deeper rabbit hole than I could have imagined!

Cheers,

David

 

[Frunobulax]

Okay thank you — that makes sense and reveals a MUCH deeper rabbit hole than I could have imagined!

Cheers,

David

This whole place is a rabbit hole!

The blocks we usually see on the secondary market are Chicago Hatters Supply. They're numbering is different than Stetsons.

 

[jlee562]

I have Stesons marked #51 and #52....

 

[Frunobulax]

I have Stesons marked #51 and #52....

What hats are those? Would you mind adding the data to the block profile thread?

 

[Mighty44]

Just FYI—I just investigated my Whippets—the early 1950s 2 3/4 brim one is 839. The later 1950s 2 1/2 brim says 723. I will add to the Stetson block threads.

 

[jlee562]

What hats are those? Would you mind adding the data to the block profile thread?

sure thing. The #51 is the Junior Cowboy, the #52 is a 6" x 3", 3 cord band hat.

 

[belfastboy]

I have Stesons marked #51 and #52....

I have a vintage block marked #52 and it has a domed top and is slightly tapered.

 

[Rmccamey]

While we are one the subject, is there not some written spec sheet somewhere with block dimensions? Seems reasonable that Stetson (or any of the other major hat companies) would have recorded that kind of basic, quantifiable information.

 

[Rmccamey]

Gangster hat. Why does every Ebay and etsy seller with an old hat in any style (bowler, homburg, fedora, trilby) include Gangster hat in the title? Is that the way non-hat people search for hats? "Yes, dear, I think I'll buy a Gangster hat today."

 

[Mighty44]

Similarly—it always amazes me that the only reaction I ever get in a fedora is “Indiana Jones”. Just once I’d like to hear someone call out “Hey, Bogie!”

 

[Zombie_61]

Gangster hat. Why does every Ebay and etsy seller with an old hat in any style (bowler, homburg, fedora, trilby) include Gangster hat in the title? Is that the way non-hat people search for hats? "Yes, dear, I think I'll buy a Gangster hat today."

First, you have to remember that a person of average intelligence really isn't all that bright--he/she is simply a member of the largest percentage of people with that level of intelligence, hence the use of the term "average". To many of them a "gangster" was a guy in a movie from before the world was in color, who wore a pinstripe Zoot suit and a floppy pimp hat while riding on the running board of an old car carrying a machine gun. So, yes, considering how few people wear any of the hat styles you've mentioned, "gangster" is pretty much the first thing to enter their struggling little minds when they see one. Unless the brim is wider than 2.5 inches; then it's a "cowboy" hat.

 

[Blare]

Similarly—it always amazes me that the only reaction I ever get in a fedora is “Indiana Jones”. Just once I’d like to hear someone call out “Hey, Bogie!”

There’s a rabbit hole for that too.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/how-do-folks-react-to-your-hat-wearing.73283/

 

[Steve1857]

There’s a rabbit hole for that too.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/how-do-folks-react-to-your-hat-wearing.73283/

OMG! More FL rabbit holes

 

[Mighty44]

There’s a rabbit hole for that too.

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/how-do-folks-react-to-your-hat-wearing.73283/

Haha—already peaked down that rabbit hole! Thanks

David

 

[Zombie_61]

Haha—already peaked down that rabbit hole! Thanks

David

The problem isn't peeking down the rabbit hole...

 

[Samson25]

So...Ask a question, right?
Has anyone here ordered from this hatmaker? Hornskov in Denmark ?
If so how was your experience, the result?
I am thinking of ordering a made to order hat, but there are many european craftsmen/ artisinal hatmakers out there, and I can't decide.

 

[Bamaboots]

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/hornskov-hats-custom-danish-hatter.99899/